And to All a Good Night
by wandererred
Summary: Judith's first Christmas! A multi-chapter fic filled with laughs, and happiness. Who could't use a little cheer this holiday season? Sent in for the USS-Caryl's Caryling Christmas Challenge! Rated M for language.
1. A Question

"…Santa came to say," Judith was following the words with her finger, "Rudo—"

"Rudolph." Carol chimed in, and Judith looked up at her.

"So those letters make an 'f' sound?" They had been reading the same book for days now, and Judith could never get past the reindeer's name. Rick had been almost as adamant about Judith learning to read as he was about teaching her to shoot, so it was no surprise that he decided she should learn these around the same age. It was pretty hard to gauge time anymore, but they were sure Judith had to be around six.

"Yes, sweetie," Carol smiled sweetly, "the 'p' and 'h' make a –"

"FFFFFFFFFFFFFUCK!" Daryl had fallen, there was a crash, and Carol leaned out of the tiny office to see him in a pile of wreaths.

"You alright?" she asked, trying to hold back her laughter as he helplessly pawed at the festive décor around his neck.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry." He sighed and kicked his legs, trying to right himself.

They had found this year-round Christmas store on one of their runs, and it had proven to be one of the best locations for temporary shelter. The store was nearly a warehouse, so it took them several days to sweep the entire location prior to sectioning off their own block of the store near the fake Christmas trees. They had used the trees to secure a perimeter around their sleeping quarters and the tree skirts and fake snow proved to be quite the ideal substitute for sleeping bags.

"It's funny," Carol said, "with the trees and the ornaments surrounding us, I almost feel like we are the most festive survivors out there."

Glenn laughed from behind Daryl, "Well Rick's got the beard…He can be Santa."

The others looked to Rick, who smiled and put his hands up, "Caught me."

The group laughed, and Judith looked to Carol, cocking her head, "I still don't understand."

"Oh yes! I'm so sorry! Your book," Carol rubbed her eyes hoping to readjust to the low light in the office, "where were we?"

"No, not about that," Judith shut the book and pointed to the cover, "what is Christmas?"

Father Gabriel's lips faltered a little bit, "It's the celebration of the birth of the baby Jesus," he looked a bit downtrodden, "don't you remember me mentioning him a few times, sweetie?"

"Pfft," Judith scoffed, a bad habit she had picked up from Daryl, "I remember Jesus, but who is this guy?" she held up the book and let one of her small fingers linger over the red face of St. Nick on the cover.

"He's a jolly fat guy," Daryl stood up tall and put his hands on his stomach, "and he sneaks into your house to eat your cookies and leave you toys." He laughed and continued to sort out the mess he had made earlier.

"Don't people get mad at him?" Judith got up and walked out of the office, and made her way over to her father, "Why hasn't he ever visited us?"

"Sweetheart," Carol followed behind her and Rick eyed Carol suspiciously,

"Santa Claus isn't real."


	2. An Answer

The silence that followed was deafening. Glenn looked at her wide eyed, and Carl quietly reached his hand out to his sister's shoulder. They were all waiting for the tears, and Rick stared at Carol, the corners of his mouth slowly turning up. Judith stood in the center of them all, tilting her head.

"Well, damn," Rick laughed, running his hands over his beard, "when Carl found out he wouldn't talk to me for a week. Wouldn't look me in the eye for at least two." He nudged his boy, and Carl rolled his eyes.

"When I found out," Glenn piped up from behind Carol, "I told my parents I didn't want my presents anymore."

"You really think Santa would put all of your toys in that garbage they used to come in?" Rick was still eyeing Judith in disbelief, "All of that packaging! And don't even get me started on the batteries. Gosh." He shook his head and looked at Carl, who was laughing with him.

"I would have known a whole lot later, had you and mom not gotten sloppy!" Carl accused his father, holding back a fit of giggles, "That wrapping paper couldn't have been so popular that a man at the top of the world used it, too."

"Ooh, bad call, Rick!" Carol smiled at the man over top Judith's head.

By now, everyone noticed the look of utter bewilderment on Judith's face.

"Maybe we should get Jude up to speed on some things," Glenn said, walking over to face Judith, "So, whatcha' wanna know kiddo?"

"So," Judith was letting her foot gently nudge an ornament at her feet, "my dad is Santa Claus? But so is your dad?" she pointed to Glenn, her brow furrowed.

"Yep, Jude," Glenn said, "Santa was something that parents had been keeping a secret from their kids for centuries."

"There are all these crazy traditions from around the world," Carol knelt to Judith's level, "why, I remember hearing that some children wou—"

"Why don't we have Christmas?" Judith asked quietly to her shoes. Silence fell over the group once again. Sure there had been times where they were safe enough, but they never knew when the time would be right. They had attempted a Thanksgiving the last time they found a house at the beginning of last winter, but the absence of a turkey made it feel like just any other night they ate together. Rick looked to the skylights where the warm sun shone into the store. It was well into the summer.

Daryl walked over and sat near where Judith was standing, "You know, I never had one, even before all of this." He said, trying to comfort her. Judith looked up sadly, but then something changed in her eyes.

She quickly walked over to her dad's feet, and said, "We should have a Christmas," she gestured to the spot where Daryl was sitting, "for Uncle Daryl."

HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO

Glenn and Carl both erupted into laughter as Daryl cast his eyes down to hide his reddening cheeks, but Rick quickly quieted them with a sharp stare. He hoisted her up onto the display he was sitting on.

"Okay," he tucked her short brown hair behind one of her ears, "this winter, we will have Christmas…for Uncle Daryl." He chuckled and looked at his friend, who was hiding his embarrassment pretty poorly.

Judith was not so easily satisfied, so she pressed on, "But why not now?"

"'Cause it ain't time for it yet, sweetie." Maggie chimed in.

"But you all just said it was a lie, so why can't we have it whenever we want?" Judith was getting desperate now, looking to everyone in the group to help support her cause.

"J-Judith," Father Gabriel attempted to reason with the girl, "the birth of Jesus Christ was not a lie."

"Ain't nobody attackin' him, get your panties out of a bunch," Daryl got up from the floor, "Jude here just wants to give me a Christmas. And I say we should have it whenever the hell we want." He patted her on the head, and she smiled at her father.

Rick quickly glared at Daryl, "Is it really the time for this right now?"

"Stumbling onto this place must have been fate," Carol winked at Daryl, "Come on, Rick. Let's have Christmas!"

"I don't know where we are gonna find the presents…" Rick looked at his boots, and then to his group.

"That was never what Christmas was about," Glenn said, "it was always about being together with the people you love!" He grabbed Maggie's hand and they looked at Rick expectantly.

"Heh, tell that to me when I was Judith's age!" Carl looked to his father, who threw back a quick smile. He tried to remember the last time the group had ever totally agreed with eachother on anything.

"Okay," Rick put his hand up to silence the group's laughter, "WE are having a Christmas…tonight."

"Yes!" Glenn pumped his fist into the air and Maggie laughed.

"You're more excited than Judith!" She smiled and pecked him on the cheek

"First things first," Glenn was already prioritizing their shopping list, "I'm finding all of the mistletoe this place has to offer!" He winked at Daryl and mouthed 'You're welcome' to which Daryl responded with a polite whisper of 'Fuck you'.

Carl looked around and said, "Hey, where are Michonne and the others? I thought they would be back from their sweep by now."


	3. A Plan

Glenn quickly took over the planning for their Christmas party, much to Rick's chagrin. Carol and Daryl would sweep the ornament section of the store, he and Maggie would get tinsel and bows for their tree barricade, Gabriel and Carl would stay back with Judith and prepare their nook, and Rick would go search for Michonne and the rest of Abraham's group.

Daryl and Carol were the first to make their find; ornaments for their Christmas trees. Carol made some playful jabs about Daryl going straight for the ball-ornaments, but he quickly wrote her off.

"You know I don't swing that way," he rolled his eyes and tweaked her butt playfully, "Besides, these will make great noise makers so no one comes sneaking up on us." He shook his head at the practicality he still felt, but they both knew the group's safety was top priority no matter how festive the time was.

She stuck her tongue out at him and held up a cute squirrel ornament, "I don't suppose you would have any opposition to this, eh?" She added it to her basket and hummed 'It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas' to herself.

"I still can't believe people used to spend money on all of this crap." Daryl said, sorting through a box of gaudy, sequined fruit.

Carol came up behind him and placed her basket down, wrapping her arms around his middle, "I kind of miss having a permanent home to decorate," she smiled as he turned his head to give her a look, "I don't miss cleaning my home, but I miss having a place to come back to."

He placed one of his hands over hers and let her continue her stream of consciousness.

"I remember," She said dreamily, "I had one of the most beautiful wreaths I had bought at a craft sale at church. I would always hang it on my door after Thanksgiving. Sometimes forgot to take it down. It was a green one, with a big red ribbon, and it had all of these tiny, sparkly pinecones strewn throughout…"

"Sounds like one ugly wreath." Daryl unlaced her fingers and turned around to face her.

She looked up at him almost indignantly, but then smiled, "Yeah." She picked up her basket and placed a quick kiss on his cheek, "Let's hope my tastes have gotten better, and let's hope we can find some good tree-toppers around here somewhere." She disappeared into another aisle, and Daryl quickly followed.

"Think there are more tree skirts around here? I could use a soft place to take a break." He placed his hand gently on the small of her back as he caught up to her.

"Oh, Daryl Dixon, you are not suggesting what I think you are…" She smiled at him and nodded her head towards an end cap of tree skirts across the aisle.

HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO

"Wish we could have electricity so we could have some lights." Glenn said, throwing a 100 count icicle light set aside.

"If you find a generator that won't attract every lurker from miles around, you can be my guest!" Maggie said sarcastically.

"Hmm," Glenn said, "Maybe I'll just have to ask Santa Claus." He walked over to his wife, who was struggling to untangle purple tinsel out of a bag. He stood leaning on a shelf, his head resting on a display of wrapping paper. He kept one hand behind his back.

"Enjoying the show?" Maggie looked up and held the neat string of tinsel victoriously, "Didn't Carol mention she liked the color purple?"

"Dunno, but any color should do," he trailed off as he got closer to her, "You're really pretty when you're untangling tinsel."

She smiled brightly at him and chided, "You're a big dork, Gl—"

Just at that moment, he plopped the biggest bow he had found in the store on top of her head, and she couldn't help but smile even wider. In her moment of recovery, he snatched the tinsel from her hand and wrapped it around her shoulders in a flurry of sparkles and crinkling plastic. Maggie laughed happily at the small gesture of silliness.

"Glenn, this is for the trees." She shook off the bow and placed against his chest. His arms wrapped around the thick red taffeta and he shook his head.

"Looks better on you." He winked setting down the gaudy decorations helping her with the tinsel wrapped around her neck.

"Shoot," He said, "looks like I tangled it even worse." He snapped one end of it off, leaving Maggie with an iridescent, purple choker. She gave him a dreadful look, and he put his hands up defensively.

"I didn't mean to do that!" He tried to guard himself, but before he could react, Maggie had grabbed a spool of thick gold tinsel and began to tangle her husband up in it.

"Now we can match!" She cackled, throwing him down onto a display of boxes. They crumpled under their weight, and both Glenn and Maggie let out an 'Oof' as they collided with the thick cardboard beneath them.

Glenn pushed aside the tinsel surrounding his face and looked at the woman beside him. Both of their cheeks were red from laughing, and Maggie was still fighting with her new necklace. Glenn grabbed her hand from her throat and knitted their fingers together. Maggie raised her other hand up to her husband's face, gently caressing his rosy cheeks. They both leaned in closer, and relished in their moment of privacy from the rest of the group. It had been awhile since the group had felt comfortable splitting up, and they were going to take advantage of this time they had alone together.


	4. A Moment

**AN: I had a thought the other day of "What if I finish this is July?" I guess my brain was in the mindset of being all cute and calling it a CHRISTMAS IN JULY sort of affair, but hopefully this will be all done WAY BEFORE then. Until then, I will work on getting into more of a routine of posting and submitting chapters to this. This is the last of the pre-made chapters that I created one night when I was feeling super cute and in the Christmas spirit. Thank you all who are still following and as always _I do not own any of the characters, etc.! :) _**

Carl lifted Judith onto his shoulders as they finished the third tree in their little alcove.

"So Gabe," Carl left Judith to rumage through a few boxes that Carol and Daryl had brought back, "what did you do around the holidays?"

He looked up from his tangle of tinsel and smiled, "Well on Christmas Day, I would see my family – as I'm sure most people did - Christmas Eve was always really busy for me…because of my occupation."

"We ususally spent it with our family – we didn't have a very big one, but they were still nice to be around." Carl replied. He was surprised that nothing like this had come up between the two of them in the past, though it was to be expected that Carl was doing little reminiscing as of late.

"Yeah," Gabriel sighed and wiped his forehead, he placed his hand on his growling stomach and looked around the store, "think they have any holiday chocolates around here?"

"That aren't a million years old?" Carl laughed, "I think your chances are pretty slim, here."

"What about candy canes? Oh those were delicious." Gabriel looked through the skylight, daydreaming.

"Candy?" Judith looked at her brother and Gabe with bright eyes. She put down what she was doing and tugged at her brothers shirt.

"Can we find some of those? Please? I've never had one!" She smiled up at him sweetly and he patted her head gently.

"Okay," he said and he could feel her buzz with excitement, "but Gabe has to go get them."

Gabriel set down the angel ornament he had been examining and gave Carl a forlorn look.

"You were the one who got her all excited!" Carl teased as Gabriel's shoulders tensed. He rose to his feet and went into the office to grab a gun. Carl grabbed his shoulder, stopping him.

"Easy," he warned, "if you get all jumpy again, it will be easier to sew up a cut than to extract a bullet from someone." He let him go and Gabriel gave him an understanding nod. Carl and Judith watched as Gabriel dragged his feet, walking through a pair of sparkly trees in the direction of the gift wrap, his knife bouncing against his leg.

"Not gonna find much food there!" Carl corrected, and Gabe turned around, lifting his shoulders in a shrug.

"Okay," Carl scanned the store rapidly, "what about in that direction?" He pointed to the front of the building where the group had first made their entrance. He had noticed several food items near the registers when they began clearing out the enormous store a few days ago.

The impulse items had made him nostalgic for the fights he would have in line at the grocery store with his mother, with Judith's mother, when she wouldn't buy him chocolate at the checkout. Of course, it wasn't until he snuck a few candy bars into Lori's basket that she refused to shop with him until he had learned how to ask for something. She didn't take him out shopping again until he was about Judith's age.

The thought made him look to Judith, who was standing right next to him, carefully handling a box of ornaments shaped like different woodland creatures. She thought the squirrel one's were especially cute, and she named them all after the people in their group.

She was pretty, like Lori, but this world had made her beauty a thing to be hidden. After a run-in with some men on the road, Rick paid close attention to the way he let his daughter carry herself. He kept her hair short and out of her face. He dressed her in practical clothes, and always kept her tucked slightly behind him and Carl when they were faced with strangers.

She brushed a piece of hair out of her face, and continued to help Carl with the tree. She was standing on her tip-toes to reach some of the higher tree branches, until Carl scooped her up so she could decorate the top of their fourth tree.

Carl wondered what she would look like in a Christmas dress, with her hair up in bows. He thought she would have liked to have a long, red one with white cuffs that could be rolled up so she could play. He wanted her to have friends her age, that she could run down the street and play with. Everyone in the group was getting older, and he knew she found this tiresome, but she never complained. She was a good kid like that.

"A good person." Carl mumbled and Judith turned her head to smile at him. He set her down and they admired their work so far. Carl knelt down to Judith's level and grabbed a water bottle out of his pack. He offered her a sip, and she gulped it down heartily. He laughed at the face she made after she had quenched her thirst, and polished off the rest of his drink while Judith went to fetch another box of ornaments from nearby. He hadn't noticed, but Daryl and Carol had been making frequent trips to and from their camp as their baskets became full. He would have to tell them to pick something with a little more variety soon, but, until then, Judith didn't seem to mind her squirrel trees.

"Have they made a trip back here recently?" Carl asked as Judith piled more boxes at his feet.

"Mmm…no." Judith stood next to Carl, who was still stooped to her level, "Do you think everything is okay?"

_Oh I'm sure everything is more than okay._ Carl thought, looking away from Judith and scanning the store.

Carl reasured her, innocently, "I'm sure they just had to go deeper into the store to find other kinds." He wasn't sure there was much truth in his words, but they seemed to be enough for Jude. She looked at him, again.

"Hey, brother?" She stepped closer and wrapped her arms around Carl's neck.

"Yes, Jude?" He smiled. He thought he had seen this coming.

"Thank you." She said, and Carl scooped her up, hugging her tightly to his chest.

Father Gabriel quietly tiptoed into their camp, smiling at the picture before him.

He quietly mouthed _Jackpot_ as he set down three 120-count packages of candy canes inside the office.


	5. A Flashback

**AN: I'd apologize, but after all, this is a Caryl fic (somewhat hehe). Anyway, I'll just get right into it: I had this idea the other night, and I just had to work on this new chapter. Hopefully, I can get the writing bug again this week and write the next chapter! I'm sorry for the length, but I had an idea and I just ran with it! As usual _I don't own any of this (and that's a good thing). All characters belong to AMC, etc._**

Carol and Daryl were the first ones to make it back to the camp. Having finished most of their 'shopping' assigned to them by Glenn, they each grabbed a few more boxes of simple, ball-ornaments and walked together to where Carl and Judith were decorating.

Daryl casually let his hip bump into Carol, and she pursed her lips at him, "Not now." She muttered, clutching at the stack of boxes in her hands.

He laughed, keeping his gaze on the woman beside him, watching her hair bob up and down against the collar of her shirt. He was always amazed at how she managed to be so fierce, but still delicate and feminine. Plus, she was amazing with Judith, and he had loved to watch her care for the girl as she grew up.

Perhaps it had been the third time he had walked in on Carol sleeping with Judith in her arms that he had ever thought to tell her how he felt. Of course there had been times where he knew that she knew. There was something in him that thought that he would never need to tell her, that they could continue their relationship just as it was, and they would both be perfectly content. As usual, nothing went as planned that night.

HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOH

They had been holed up for about a week in another one of their poor excuses for shelter. This time, it was a block of condominiums. They had only had the daylight available to clear out two, so everyone was bumping elbows wherever they went. He had chosen to live in the same condominium as Carol at that time. He heard about the group's Girl Scout code, something about calling themselves 'GREATM' like some yaya sisterhood, and he wanted no part of that. Living with the other half of the group proved to be no easier on his nerves. Something in him was different ever since the times that he had lost Carol, and it made his blood boil to think that there needed to be an 's' at the end of that word. He wanted to share a room with her to make sure she was protected, he took watch at night whenever he could, but he only remained outside of her door. He became selfish, and he resented that in himself. He wanted to keep everyone in the group safe, but he always put _her_ before anyone else.

In addition, his new 'watchdog' status had taken a toll on their relationship as well. She became annoyed with him, asking him if he would follow her into the bathroom or snidely requesting his permission to be excused from meals. Of course, he knew when he backed off, everything would have returned to normal, but the idea of this drove him mad. After one dinner consisting mainly of dirty looks shot back and forth, Carol announced that she was taking Judith upstairs to sleep. Rick nodded and flashed his eyes over to Daryl, who was staring blankly into his can of peaches.

"Well isn't that just the case," Michonne dug her spoon into her fruit cocktail as Carol reached the top of the stairs, "the watchdog is reduced to a sad little puppy."

This caused Daryl to tense, and he set down his dinner, "Be right back. Need some air." All of this was making him sick to his stomach.

"Okay, brother." Rick nodded and shot Michonne an exasperated look; she continued to pick at her food.

"If he doesn't come back, can I have his share?" Michonne snorted, but Rick and Carl stared her down. Daryl was at the front door, looking through the peephole into the inky, black night. He quietly opened the door, and Michonne saw him duck back in to grab his crossbow. The door closed softly behind him.

He had to go. He had to do something to get his mind off of Carol, because he wanted a clear head when he took watch again tonight. _Not gonna sit outside her door all damn night, Dixon _he repeated to himself. The group was first, and he didn't have to worry so much about her. She was part of the group, and if he was protecting the group, he was protecting her.

He kept his footsteps muffled, his ear to the ground as he swept along the outer perimeter of their shelter.

"Ain't a guard dog." he said to himself, noticing the small tremble in his voice.

Just then, he heard a noise from behind two short, metal garbage cans. He craned his neck, hoping to see around them, but it was too dark. He approached, cautiously, allowing the upper half of his body to lean back as he nudged the cans with his left foot.

Nothing.

He continued to the backside of the condominiums and let his mind wander again. _What does she think I'm doin'? I'm protectin' her; I'm protectin' what I love. _He felt his heart race at the word, and he inhaled sharply. He didn't understand what he was thinking; why he was letting himself get so attached. In this world, the things that you loved were ripped away the second you got a hold on them. _I'll just back off. Tha's what she wants, right? We can just be in the same group. Don't gotta have nothing happen._

"Fuck, that." He snorted and repositioned his crossbow against his shoulder. The perimeter seemed to be free of walkers, so he stopped to check out the surrounding yards. He saw a small baby swing next door and thought they should clear out the next few yards so Rick could have some quality time with his family. In all likelihood they wouldn't stay here more than a week, but it was always nice to naively believe they could ever find permanent accommodations. Daryl took note of any gaps in the fences to be patched up tomorrow, then he turned on his heels to go back into the building.

As he was passing the row of garbage cans for the second time, he heard the sound again. It was like someone was trying to move the cans, but he couldn't see anything in the darkness.

He decided to pull out his miniature flashlight and shined it between the two cans. He could tell they were backed up to the fence, but there wasn't anything that appeared to be causing the sound. He felt the cool metal against his skin as he leaned in to get a better look.

He stuck his hand between the cans, shining the flashlight deeper into the crevice. He squinted against the bright light.

It was at the moment that he suddenly felt dead fingers wrap around the hand that was holding his flashlight. He pulled back roughly, bringing the walker through the hole it had found in the fence behind the cans and dropping his flashlight. The cans toppled over loudly, and the walker began to growl as it snapped at his face. His first instinct was to roll over, but the cans had both he and the walker pinned. He pushed up with all his might, keeping the walker at bay with his other hand. He could barely see and he knew there had been quite a few close calls, but he managed to wrestle himself free and grab his crossbow. His literal shot in the dark proved fatal as the moans at his feet stopped and he fell, tired, onto his back.

He felt hot tears stinging his eyes, as he frantically checked himself for bites and scratches. His search came back negative. He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms and let out a laugh. While his eyes were closed, he saw the smiling face of a silver-haired woman. He laid there for another moment with his eyes closed and his hands on his face, holding on to the image. His heart raced faster, as though he were fighting off a second walker, but he knew he was in no danger.

"I get it now," he said to himself, "I get it." He placed his hands on either side of his hips, getting himself into a sitting position. He grabbed his crossbow and quickly made his way to the front door, adrenaline still coursing through his veins.

"Daryl!" Rick called as his friend ran in the front, his shirt spattered in gore.

"Are you hurt?" Carl rushed in with Michonne, and they both were looking visibly concerned.

"I'm fine, took care of a walker," Daryl dropped his crossbow and pushed past his welcoming party, "Carol still upstairs?"

"Uh," Rick turned to follow Daryl, "yes, but don't you think you should clean up first? What happened? A walker?"

"Later." He took off up the stairs.

He checked for her in every room, calling out to her softly,

"Hey, Carol." He opened the last door in the upstairs hallway.

He was greeted with a small room, most likely an office, bathed in pale moonlight. The figure of a woman slumped over in a rocking chair was the first thing to catch his eye. He called out to her again and lightly touched her shoulder.

She had Judith pressed against her chest, nestled under a soft green blanket. They were both lightly snoring.

Daryl reached out for the child, but something stopped him. He caught his breath and stepped back from the sleeping pair.

It was as though the delicate light of the room had airbrushed away all of their hardships. Carol's face looked so pristine and her skin appeared milky white under gentle waves of silver hair. Her smooth lips were pressed into a slight smile to match the one present on the sleeping infant. He let himself sit on the window sill across from the dozing pair and he took in all that was before him. He tried to lose himself in the moment, forgetting everything that happened outside. He just wanted to keep everything the way it was now. Carol smiling, content, beautiful. Though, she would always be beautiful to him. He folded his hands and placed his elbows on his knees. There was a calm silence about these times that he enjoyed. He couldn't hear anything except for their breathing. He welcomed the absence of the noise the old world had offered. He didn't miss the car horns, or the sound of other people's homes. In this world, he felt he could be private. He remained with them in silence for what could have been an eternity, but eventually, his legs began to ache and he sighed. Once in a standing position, he approached the rocking chair, bending down to gently unwrap Carol's arms from around Judith. He gazed once more onto the sleeping face of his best friend, and he was grateful nothing happened outside that would have woken her. He was glad he didn't have to come to her with a bite. _I'm glad I came back at all. _His head was spinning, his heart began to race and he had to work to control his breathing. _You're being a drama queen, Dixon, _he thought, scolding himself for his behavior. He fought to bring himself back down to earth, but a tight knot had grown in his stomach. As he laid her hands back down onto her chest, he stood still with one hand holding onto hers. He felt he was leaving his body while he bent down further and let his lips brush her forehead. His shoulders trembled and he felt pins and needles rise up his legs. He pulled away, inhaling her scent and whispering,

"I love you."

As the last word left his mouth, he panicked and dropped her hand. She twitched a little, but remained asleep as far as he could tell. Not wanting to face whatever words she would have for him when she woke up, he quickly positioned Judith in the crook of his elbow and padded out of the room.

As it was later made clear to him, he had left too soon; too soon to see the smile on the "sleeping" woman's face grow just a little bit wider.

He greeted Rick in his room with a half-hearted grin, "Here's Jude." He robotically handed the sleeping bundle to her father and Rick gently kissed the top of her head. The gesture made Daryl flinch, and he went rigid with regret.

"Hey," Rick whispered, nodding his head in Daryl's direction, "what happened earlier?"

"Nothing special," Daryl chided and let his hand thump onto Rick's bicep, "Goodnight."

"Wait." Rick called out, softly, but Daryl kept walking. He placed his hand on the doorframe as he left, steadying himself.

"Have Michonne take my watch for me." He didn't bother to turn around, he was too embarrassed to face anyone in the state he was in.

He was lying to himself if he thought he was going to get any sleep that night. He propped himself up on his elbows in the small guest room he had claimed downstairs. Flipping his 'borrowed' pillow, he rolled over onto his other side, with his back away from the door and squeezed his eyes shut. _Stupid, tha's what you are. _He groaned at the thought of having to face Carol the following morning. She couldn't have heard him, he was so quiet…

He rolled onto his back and threw his right forearm across his face. _Why'd I have to do it now? We're fightin', she's gonna get even more pissed at me._

"Fuck." He breathed.

His stomach dropped through the bed when he heard the sound of someone leaning against the doorframe. He felt a chilled sweat break out on his forehead, and it felt like an eternity until he managed to speak with his heavy tongue.

"H-how long?" He stammered at the door, his arm still hiding his face. He didn't want to acknowledge the person he knew was crossing her arms at him.

"How long, what?" Her voice didn't sound as angry as he had imagined it would be.

"How long have ya known?" He swallowed hard and peeked out from under his arm. She was standing inside the room now, her arms draped over her chest. She was getting defensive.

She started walking over to where Daryl was cowering, and he heard his heart pounding in his ears as she sat next to him.

"Sit up." She sat down on his left side and placed one hand on his back. He shuddered and she withdrew her hand, still keeping it close to his body.

Daryl sat up and swung his legs over so they were sitting next to eachother, and he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. _She's smiling?_

"Now," she leaned in closer to him, "what are you asking me?"

He looked at her, confused. What did she want him to say? He gathered all the little courage he had left and turned to face her, "How long have you known how I feel?"

She looked at him expectantly and he reworded his question, "H'long have you known that I love you?" He froze after the last word left his mouth, because she locked eyes with him. They were dark, serious, and it was not a good sign. He put his head in his hands and sighed heavily.

There was a long pause, but she made no attempt to leave.

"So," he mumbled, "what are you thinking?"

She fell backwards on his bed with a sigh, "Well, I think you're being very stupid," _Ouch_, "but I've always loved that about you."

He looked back to her face and wrinkled his brow, "Now what're **you** sayin'?" This woman was going to be the death of him, and he wasn't in the mood to let her flirting slide. She sat back up again and took both of his hands in hers.

"I don't know how long, but the feeling is mutual, Daryl." She smiled at him and he dropped his head again. She let go of one of his hands and cupped his face with her palm. Daryl warmed at her touch, and leaned his forehead against hers as they both closed their eyes.

Carol was just about to lean in when Daryl's mouth came crashing into hers, sending shockwaves up her jaw. She recoiled and her hand flew to her mouth.

"Oh God." she groaned, smiling despite her sore lips. Daryl laughed, rubbing his chin with the back of his hand.

"Draw any blood?" He asked, chuckling out of embarrassment.

"No, we're good," She stood up and walked him to the door with her, casually entwining their fingers, "so, I'll see you tomorrow?" He looked a little hurt and awkwardly slumped into the doorframe.

"Ain't gonna spend the night?" He tried to ask without getting flustered.

Carol widened her eyes in mock-surprise, and gently smacked his chest, "Mister Dixon! Well I never! After that?" She looked up at him and winked. She planted a softer kiss on his lips, lingering just long enough to know that they both wanted more.

"You're a tough one," she smiled against his mouth, "I think you'll be around for one more night." She winked at him, and he made a mental note to clear his schedule for the following evening.

With that, she left Daryl in that doorframe, and sauntered back upstairs for the night. He had thought of following behind her, taking her into his arms like some gallant prince, but that wasn't him.

_You'll be back_, he thought, leaving the door a jar just in case he was right. He kicked off his boots and flopped down onto the bed, grabbing at himself to see if he was dreaming. He smiled into the darkness, holding onto that kiss for as long as he was still awake that night.

HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO

He came to in a broken-down Christmas store, his hands full of cheap ornaments that were probably made for pennies on the dollar in China, but all that mattered to him was the woman by his side. He looked to his left, to his constant, and marveled at how quickly their relationship had progressed after that night. His musings were interrupted by a sharp gasp next to him. He turned his head just in time to see Carol go tumbling forward, bringing her ornament boxes down with her.

"Oh, shit!" he tossed his boxes to the side and knelt down beside Carol who was lying amongst a pile of intact baubles and shiny shards of glass.

"I'm okay, I'm okay!" She took his hand and steadied herself with her other palm on the ground, "Oww." She grimaced as he grabbed both of her hands to help her into a standing position. He let her go as soon as she gave him a nod and his right hand pulled away wet with blood.

"Er, Carol?" he grabbed her hands once more and turned them over to find a minor cut down the inside of her left ring finger.

"Oh, that's not too bad," She winced as he tried to find the source of the bleeding, "we'll get me patched up, right?"

"Sure," Daryl led her back to their camp, "think I can patch it up."

They were greeted my Gabe and Carl while Judith ran around their camp spreading her arms like she was trying to take flight.

"Hey," Daryl laughed, "who spun her up?"

"Gabe," Carl immediately threw the former-preacher under the bus, "he brought back candy. Are you two alright?"

"Yeah," Daryl pushed past them into the office, Carol in tow, "mind picking up what's salvageable from the next aisle?"

Carl was about to open his mouth to ask what happened, but Judith came crashing into his legs, causing him to fall onto his bed-roll. He pushed Judith off of him and roared, and she ran rieking to the other edge of their alcove.

Daryl sat Carol down on a crate and turned her hand over in his palm, "I'll get some water for that." He stepped out and came back with a dark canteen. She winced as the lukewarm water ran into her cut and down her fingers, leaving a faint pink puddle at their feet.

"It's okay." Daryl held her other hand as he grabbed some iodine from one of their scavenged first aid kits and splashed a bit onto her finger. She clenched his hand tightly in her fist and gave him a pained smile.

"Hold on," he left her on the crate to go get a bandage, and she leaned her head back, breathing deeply, "Almost done." He came back with white gauze, some medical tape and a marker.

She sighed in relief as the pain in her finger subsided to a dull throb. Daryl taped off the gauze, but Carol couldn't help but notice that he still had the marker in his hand.

"Were you going to draw on me if I passed out?" She took back her hand and examined the wrappings; he had done a good job.

He chuckled a little bit and responded, "Jus' gimme your hand again." She obeyed and he drew a thin, black line around the circumference of the bandage, pausing just before completing the circle to draw a rectangle between the ends of the two lines.

"Tada." He capped the marker and let her examine what he had created.

"Oh," she was still perplexed at why he had chosen to draw a ring on her bandages, "Thanks."

"Are ya blind, woman?" he held her hand closer to her face, "Do ya need another hint?"

He stood the both of them up off of the ground and then stooped to one knee in front of her, "Carol," he began, the realization blossoming on her face, "will you be my wife?"

He stood up to be eye level with her and continued to talk, "I've always been yours, but I want Gabriel to make ya mine. I love you, Carol. Still do."

She smiled sweetly up at him, "Oh yes," she planted a quick kiss on his lips and he wrapped his arms around her, "but why now? I've always been yours, Daryl." He smiled at her lovingly and they swayed back and forth inside the small office.

He continued, "Guess I've been tryin'a let go of what was 'fore all this. I think we gotta make our own memories here - or at least try."

"And that's what you've been doing?" Carol placed her forehead against his, looking into his eyes.

"I'm tryin'." He leaned in to kiss her on the lips, allowing his hands to gently rest on her hips.

**Whoops, it kind of became Fic-inception in here, didn't it? Caryl on my lovelies ;) I hope you all enjoyed! I am currently working on another fic that is a little darker. It's not like I'll ever get tired of the cavities that these fluffy fanfictions bring, but I just want to challenge myself. If you have made it this far, thank you and I appreciate your feedback as always! **


	6. An Announcement

**AN: Hello all! I promise this will be the last "less-Chrsitmas-y" feeling chapter for anyone who is worried about that. I am so grateful to have reached so many viewers with my writing, and it makes me smile every day knowing that people keep coming back. As always, criticism is greatly appreciated, and I would love to hear what you guys think about what is transpiring ;) Many thanks and Enjoy! **

_**I didn't get any of these characters under my tree, so, sadly, they all still belong to AMC, Robert Kirkman, etc.**_

Daryl and Carol were still gently swaying back and forth holding onto eachother gently. Carol bent her head down to Daryl's chest and he gently sighed into her hair, pressing kisses to the side of her head. She smiled into his vest and burrowed into his neck further, giggling softly,

"Shall we go join the others?" He gently pushed her away from him so he could look into her eyes, "Mrs. Dixon?"

This made both of them smile, and Carol's hands flew up to her cheeks in an attempt to cover her blush.

"Yer so goddamned cute." Daryl crushed her against his chest, nearly taking them both down onto the floor. She let out a huge 'Oof!' and he loosened his grip, quickly apologizing.

"Come on," she pulled her head off of his shoulder, "I don't intend for them to get wind of what we're going to announce tonight!" With that, she sauntered out of the room with a spring in her step. Daryl quickly chased after her and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Whadya mean, announce?" he asked as quietly as he could, but it was to no avail as a small girl with short brown hair came running at full speed towards them.

"Announce what, Uncle Daryl?" Judith gave him a saccharin smile and Carol giggled at the look on his face. He bent down to her level and put his hands on her slight shoulders. She was smiling at him and rocked back and forth on her heels in anticipation. He winked at Carol and then turned to smile sweetly at Rick's little girl,

"Now, I'm only askin' ya this 'cause the two of ya are so close. Would ya think it'd be okay if I married yer Auntie Carol? You know, like Glenn and Maggie?" He dropped his arms and took one of her little hands in his, a playful, pleading look in his eyes. He could see her gears turning and she cocked her head to the side, furrowing her brow.

"You mean you're not already?" She asked causing Carol to stifle a giggle behind her bandaged hand.

"Nah Jude," he looked up at Carol again and trailed off, "I jus' love her a lot, is all…"

The little girl smiled and withdrew her hand from Daryl's grasp. She looked to Carol and back to Daryl then back to Carol again. She didn't quite understand what it really meant to be married, and the two of them didn't blame her. The environment she was brought up in hadn't left much time for her to learn a lot of what went on in the old world. Of course they had taken time to explain everything she wasn't familiar with in her books, but puppies, pigeons, and rowdy schoolboys didn't exactly have to deal with marriage.

She made her decision after a pause and some 'careful' thought, "I say yes!" And with that, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Daryl's neck. He picked her up causing her to squeal with delight as her held her to his chest. Carol approached the embracing pair and stroked Judith's hair, planting a small kiss on her temple. Daryl let her down and hunched over theatrically with his hand rubbing his back,

"One of us might be getting too old for that, kiddo," he moaned and she playfully shoved at his arm, "you're a lot bigger than when I first metcha'!"

Judith's expression became cautious when she saw a grin curl up onto Daryl's face. He immediately righted himself and grabbed Judith by the waist before she could protest, throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her off. Carol followed behind, not sure which of the pair was acting more the child.

"But yer not big enough to throw around a little bit!" He laughed as she beat at his shoulder, begging to be put down. He was walking towards Carl when one of Judith's shoes grazed his cheek, causing him to turn his head and narrowly miss another kick.

"Hey!" he barked, putting her down and rubbing his red cheek, "What was that for?"

"I'm not that little, Daryl," she beamed up at him, clearly proud of her work and happy to be on solid ground again, "and besides, Carol told me what you used to call me when I was a baby!"

"L'il asskicker!" Carol knelt to give Judith a high five and rose back up the peck Daryl on the cheek he was rubbing. He saw a deviant fire in her eyes as she pursed her lips and apologized to him. Had he any foresight, he would have shut her up immediately. He regretted forgetting the one other thing Carol had to use against him.

"Sorry Pookie." She said with that mischievous glint still in her eye.

_Great, _he thought, _Just the thing I didn't want her to get wind of! _

HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO

"Really?" Father Gabriel was sat cross-legged on the floor rubbing his eyes in the low-light of the afternoon. Daryl and Carol were kneeling across from him in the office, a small crate between them. He was their only option for someone to perform a quick ceremony like Daryl had suggested, and they went to him as soon as he took a break from decorating.

"I really don't know when we would do it…" He looked out into the store and then up to the forever darkening skylights.

"How about tonight?" Daryl asked eagerly.

"Please, Gabriel," Carol jumped in, in support of Daryl's idea, "you're the only one we know who can do it! It would be so nice. We've found this place and we are safe here, even if it is just for a little while."

"It's not like I'm about to deny it to you two," Gabriel laughed and stretched his back, "I'm just a little rusty. Considering this is a store, Carol, you could literally walk down an aisle." He laughed at his own joke, and Carol raised her eyebrows. "I can do it tonight." He flatly clarified and the two happily rose from across from him, turning around and leaving the office. They threw back and few thankful remarks and Gabriel nodded in acknowledgment.

"After all this time…and I still haven't gotten any funnier." He shook his head and reached for his pack, which he found to still contain all he thought he needed to marry Mr. and Mrs. Hunter. He chuckled at his own inner dialogue and got up to stretch his tired legs. He would have to work on his jokes if he was going to be speaking in front of all of them tonight. This was a tough crowd.

HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO

Rick, Michonne, Tara and Abraham's group were the only ones to not have returned as the light in the store had begun to fade into mid-afternoon. Glenn and Maggie returned shortly after Carl and Judith had topped the last tree. Maggie was still wearing her opulent, purple collar and Glenn was carrying some of the most tangled tinsel the group had ever seen.

"Thought you were s'posed to untangle it and bring it here, man!" Daryl laughed from the back wall of their alcove.

Glenn and Maggie exchanged glances and Glenn chuckled at Daryl awkwardly, "Sorry, brother," Maggie turned and walked to where Judith was playing with a small penguin figurine, Glenn dropped his tinsel and spoke out of the side of his mouth, "we got a little distracted." Daryl gave him an exasperated look and Carol's hand flew up to her mouth in an attempt to silence her cackling. He smiled proudly and his eye's fell to Carol's left hand.

"I see Daryl was the first one to doodle on your cast, there…" He smiled, knowingly at Daryl and the hunter responded with his favorite finger.

Maggie approached with Judith in tow, both beaming at Carol.

"So, _someone_ here told me the news," she thumbed at Judith and the little girl beamed brighter at the three adults sat against the wall, "congratulations, you two." She sat next to Glenn and twisted her own wedding ring on her finger.

"I'll bet you're both excited. Our first Christmas and a marriage in the same night." Maggie smiled kindly at the two of them.

"Yeah…" Carol trailed off and she quickly glanced at the jewelry Maggie was playing with.

Carol's eyes fell to the intricate setting of the stone, her gaze soon falling to the wrinkly gauze bandage on her finger. In another time, she may have been jealous of the pair next to them. She never got the chance to have nice things in the old world or this world, but she knew she would just worry too much about losing an expensive ring. Carl thought that Maggie had felt this way, too, because she tried several years ago to find a chain to hang her bands from on her neck. She had remarked to Glenn that, though it was symbolic, it was unnecessary. What really mattered was the man who had given it to her. She wasn't married to a shiny piece of jewelry, she was married to the man she fell asleep next to every night. Presently, she had yet to win that argument, but Carol loved that Daryl had been thoughtful enough to know that she could stand to live without a pretty trinket.

"Now don't go hurting yourself on that finger jus' so you got somethin' to remind you." Daryl picked up her left hand, inspecting his handiwork.

"You're right," Carol sighed, "I'll just never take this one off."

Daryl hung his head and he sighed pinching the bridge of his nose, "Jesus, woman, if you want a real ring, we can find a real ring."

Carol brushed his hand away from his face and leaned in to let her lips gently brush against his. She giggled at how flustered he had gotten.

"I've known how you've felt about me for years now," their eyes were smoldering with passion for eachother, "do you think I need a ring to remind me?" She pressed their foreheads together and maintained her sultry stare. It wasn't a huge gesture, but it was enough to catch the eye of the young woman to Daryl's right.

Maggie bent her head and whispered gently to her husband, "I think we should leave these two alone; they'll join us soon enough."

Glenn helped Maggie up and knitted their fingers together. She glanced quickly at the two adults still on the ground. She had figured Daryl a passionate man, but the scene on the floor was positively heartbreaking. She knew there would be no separating them unless it was by their own volition. It made her happy to see Carol, the woman who had helped her through the most, this happy and in love. Glenn began tugging her away, widening his eyes as if to say 'Let's go before this gets gross'.

The two went to join Carl and Father Gabriel. Judith was sprawled on the ground behind them playing with the tinsel like a cat. Maggie bent down to undo the mess she was making. Judith took this as a challenge and Glenn proactively began to untangle the other spools of tinsel far away from her reach. Maggie smiled at her husband and then turned to Judith, who was now making herself a choker to match the one Maggie had. She looked very pleased with herself, even though hers was more closely resembling a lei. This got Maggie thinking…

"Flowers!" Maggie struck herself on the forehead.

"What?" Carl heard her first.

"A wedding needs flowers! I saw a ton of fake ones just a few aisles back!" She stood up and offered her hand to Judith.

"Want to go help me find flowers for Auntie Carol, sweet pea?" She looked to Carl for approval and he hesitantly nodded.

"Take a knife with you, and don't forget a flashlight…" He turned back to his work and shook his head, "You know what? Actually, take a gun." Gabriel shot him a pained expression and he chuckled, "What?" he shrugged theatrically and Gabriel rolled his eyes.

Maggie approached the edge of the camp and waited for Judith to follow behind her. She grabbed a basket from a nearby display and took Judith's hand in hers. At this rate, Maggie believed they would be getting the idea to catch up on all of the forgotten birthdays, too. She smiled and remembered what Glenn had said earlier.

"It ain't about the stuff, it's about who you're spending your time with." She muttered under her breath.

"What, Maggie?" Judith had overheard her musings.

"Oh nothing, sweet pea." she sighed and smiled at the store now basking in the light of the setting sun. The sparkling fixtures caught just enough of the fading daylight to give off an air of something magic in their midst.

"Absolutely nothing."

**Coming soon: Much more Christmas-y stuff and thangs and a little surprise for our group! :) **


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